Behind the Headlines

Is the lake one-fourth empty or three-fourths full?

No, this isn’t the old riddle about the difference between an optimist and a pessimist.  It’s a story about the difference between journalists and tourism promoters.

In Sunday’s newspaper, Somerset-based reporter Bill Estep wrote about the fears many people around Lake Cumberland have these days. They’re afraid that the local tourism industry will be harmed by repairs to Wolf Creek Dam, which has forced a water draw-down that has reduced the lake from a normal summer pool of 50,000 surface acres to less than 38,000 surface acres.  Photographs with the story, by chief photographer Charles Bertram, were quite dramatic. They showed that some popular parts of the lake were no longer a lake.

Some tourism interests around Lake Cumberland have complained about the story, even though Bill went out of his way to present an accurate, balanced view.  There have been even more complaints about the photos, claiming they show too much about what’s wrong with the lake instead of what is still right with it. 

When choosing the photos to publish in print and online, we weighted those considerations, and Charles wrote about it on the photo blog.  Photos like the one above made it clear that there’s still plenty of water in Lake Cumberland to float your boat.

The state Commerce Cabinet – no doubt under political pressure from the lake area’s $150 million-a-year tourism industry – jumped in Tuesday with an oddly worded e-mail to news organizations. It complained about a report in “a Lexington-based publication,” but didn’t say it was wrong.  “We’d like to let the public know there is plenty of water and opportunities for recreation at Lake Cumberland this boating season,” Cabinet Secretary George Ward wrote.  The email also solicited a letter-writing campaign to the Herald-Leader. That’s fine; we love to get letters.

I’m sure we’ll see even more efforts at spin and damage control. But let’s be honest: the situation is what it is. Yes, there is still plenty of water in Lake Cumberland for visitors to enjoy.  But no, Lake Cumberland isn’t anything like normal, and a lot of people are worried about it.

I think readers of the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com value accuracy and honesty, and this is a good example of why they keep coming to us in ever-increasing numbers.

Tom Eblen
Managing Editor